Post by Jeffrey Olver on Dec 10, 2007 15:55:23 GMT -5
Sorry to keep y'all on the edge of your seats... ;D
The last post I mentioned I was going to preach in front of a club called the "Electric Cowboy." Caleb and I did so, brandishing our Bibles and I was wearing my "Fear God" shirt.
This club isn't just some venues for bands and a place to drink...I found out that they host "Girls Gone Wild" there and the waitresses wear scandalous clothing.
The club is situated at the far end of a huge parking lot, a part of a stripmall. So we found a median in the parkinglot only several yards away from the entrance to the club. There weren't people waiting around outside, but some were trickling in and out occasionally. In the back of my mind I knew the parking lot would be "private property," but after prayer I decided to go for it.
I preached for roughly three minutes, warning people going into the club and calling those inside to "COME OUT OF SIN!" My voice bounced off the buildings so effectively it startled me...and people inside must have heard because in just a few short moments, one of the proprietors and a bouncer came out to shut us down.
The first thing he said was that it was private property and asked "Are you going to leave or do I have to call the cops?" I said we were just preaching the gospel. He gave the usual justifications that not everyone inside was a sinner, or getting drunk. In fact he said he believed in Jesus and he doesn't go to churches to shout about drink specials.
I said "Sir, we'll leave in a minute, but if you say you're a believer in Jesus, but you continue to run this kind of establishment the Bible says that you're a hypocrite." I shared the gospel as long as he would listen until his bouncer butted in and asked "So you don't sin?" I tried to address his questions about holiness and sin - but the propriator told us to get going...so we left rejoicing that we got to preach a little.
THIS PAST SATURDAY, Caleb and I went for a walk at night around the neighborhood and I felt lead to stroll down to the Electric Cowboy to see if it would be feasible to preach to it from the public sidewalk. The parking lot was way too big. I looked across the street and there was a billiard hall and bar called "Clicks." It has huge windows and we could tell it was packed with people listening to a live band. The sidewalk was very close to it.
We ran across the street to have a closer look at the situation. I admit, at the prospect of preaching again I had a little fear. So Caleb and I began to pray against the bars and clubs of Tyler, TX. During our prayers I noticed the band was taking a break and some people were outside. A few were leaving and a few were coming. Suddenly, William Booth and the hey-days of the Salvation Army popped into my head. How those brave soldiers of Christ would parade into a town, singing, playing instruments, praising God and preaching the Gospel in front of pubs and taverns. Full of inspiration, Caleb and I sang a few hymns at the top of our lungs. The people outside could definitely hear. Several I could see were particularly moved to stand and listen when we sang "Amazing Grace" a few times through.
At that I saw small crowd of people arriving and small crowd departing and I began to preach. We stayed for well over an hour. The bouncers came out and said they didn't mind at all, but to be careful because some "rough characters" frequented this bar. I preached while Caleb addressed people who came close to ask questions.
Caleb spoke to two guys who claimed to be "Pastor's Kids." One of them said their Dad was a pastor at a local well known church "Grace Community Fellowship." And another guy who atteneded the local Megachurch "Green Acres Baptist" argued about holiness and theology, saying a we didn't have to repent and give up our sin as we come to Christ, but (like Rob Bell) believed we're all saved already. So he did not like me preaching about repentance.
As we were getting to leave a very kind police officer arrived and said he got a call from someone (not inside the bar) about us. So he wanted to check us out and make sure we were being careful. I told him that we would most likely be coming back. He said as long as we stayed on the public property we'd be just fine.
We're very excited to have a consistent place to preach in Tyler! Please pray the Lord provides the finances for us to procure some decent tracts and big, bold signs.
And if you think of it, please pray for Tyler. It's known as the "Church Planter's Graveyard." There are over 350 churches here...with plenty of bars, a couple clubs and three strip clubs and two pornshops. With 350 churches it's very disheartening to not see street preachers every weekend, everywhere.
Soon I might be teaching an evangelism class. I'm really hoping to get people excited for evangelism at my church. Well, that's it for now. I'm looking forward to updating y'all more. God bless.
Questions? Comments? Please feel free to e-mail me
Jeff@OpenAirOutreach.com
The last post I mentioned I was going to preach in front of a club called the "Electric Cowboy." Caleb and I did so, brandishing our Bibles and I was wearing my "Fear God" shirt.
This club isn't just some venues for bands and a place to drink...I found out that they host "Girls Gone Wild" there and the waitresses wear scandalous clothing.
The club is situated at the far end of a huge parking lot, a part of a stripmall. So we found a median in the parkinglot only several yards away from the entrance to the club. There weren't people waiting around outside, but some were trickling in and out occasionally. In the back of my mind I knew the parking lot would be "private property," but after prayer I decided to go for it.
I preached for roughly three minutes, warning people going into the club and calling those inside to "COME OUT OF SIN!" My voice bounced off the buildings so effectively it startled me...and people inside must have heard because in just a few short moments, one of the proprietors and a bouncer came out to shut us down.
The first thing he said was that it was private property and asked "Are you going to leave or do I have to call the cops?" I said we were just preaching the gospel. He gave the usual justifications that not everyone inside was a sinner, or getting drunk. In fact he said he believed in Jesus and he doesn't go to churches to shout about drink specials.
I said "Sir, we'll leave in a minute, but if you say you're a believer in Jesus, but you continue to run this kind of establishment the Bible says that you're a hypocrite." I shared the gospel as long as he would listen until his bouncer butted in and asked "So you don't sin?" I tried to address his questions about holiness and sin - but the propriator told us to get going...so we left rejoicing that we got to preach a little.
THIS PAST SATURDAY, Caleb and I went for a walk at night around the neighborhood and I felt lead to stroll down to the Electric Cowboy to see if it would be feasible to preach to it from the public sidewalk. The parking lot was way too big. I looked across the street and there was a billiard hall and bar called "Clicks." It has huge windows and we could tell it was packed with people listening to a live band. The sidewalk was very close to it.
We ran across the street to have a closer look at the situation. I admit, at the prospect of preaching again I had a little fear. So Caleb and I began to pray against the bars and clubs of Tyler, TX. During our prayers I noticed the band was taking a break and some people were outside. A few were leaving and a few were coming. Suddenly, William Booth and the hey-days of the Salvation Army popped into my head. How those brave soldiers of Christ would parade into a town, singing, playing instruments, praising God and preaching the Gospel in front of pubs and taverns. Full of inspiration, Caleb and I sang a few hymns at the top of our lungs. The people outside could definitely hear. Several I could see were particularly moved to stand and listen when we sang "Amazing Grace" a few times through.
At that I saw small crowd of people arriving and small crowd departing and I began to preach. We stayed for well over an hour. The bouncers came out and said they didn't mind at all, but to be careful because some "rough characters" frequented this bar. I preached while Caleb addressed people who came close to ask questions.
Caleb spoke to two guys who claimed to be "Pastor's Kids." One of them said their Dad was a pastor at a local well known church "Grace Community Fellowship." And another guy who atteneded the local Megachurch "Green Acres Baptist" argued about holiness and theology, saying a we didn't have to repent and give up our sin as we come to Christ, but (like Rob Bell) believed we're all saved already. So he did not like me preaching about repentance.
As we were getting to leave a very kind police officer arrived and said he got a call from someone (not inside the bar) about us. So he wanted to check us out and make sure we were being careful. I told him that we would most likely be coming back. He said as long as we stayed on the public property we'd be just fine.
We're very excited to have a consistent place to preach in Tyler! Please pray the Lord provides the finances for us to procure some decent tracts and big, bold signs.
And if you think of it, please pray for Tyler. It's known as the "Church Planter's Graveyard." There are over 350 churches here...with plenty of bars, a couple clubs and three strip clubs and two pornshops. With 350 churches it's very disheartening to not see street preachers every weekend, everywhere.
Soon I might be teaching an evangelism class. I'm really hoping to get people excited for evangelism at my church. Well, that's it for now. I'm looking forward to updating y'all more. God bless.
Questions? Comments? Please feel free to e-mail me
Jeff@OpenAirOutreach.com